such clinical issues as the link between insight and action
or to explore how social psychology, cognitive psychology,
developmental psychology and philosophy can enhance
understanding of insight.

At a third and final conference two years later, the groupdrafted a chapter on their findings for the APA book “Insight inPsychotherapy,” published in 2005. Essentially, says Castonguay,the chapter is a statement by recognized scholars saying, “Here’swhat we agree on and what the future direction of this issue willbe.”Using a similar process, the group held a second series ofPenn State conferences, this time on the topic of correctiveexperiences — events that challenge one’s fear or expectationsand lead to new outcomes. “Corrective experiences are onlyone part of therapy, but they’re a huge part that often leads totransformation, making them an important psychotherapyprocess to examine,” Hill says.

APA published the resulting book on the conference,
“Transformation in Psychotherapy,” in June.

Characteristics of effective therapists

While the chapters on the therapist effect are still several
years away from being written, the book that will eventually
emerge will include discussion and research that can delineate
personal features distinguishing effective therapists from less
effective ones as well as identify ways of acting in therapy that
trainers, supervisors and therapists themselves can focus on
to help improve the outcome of individual clinicians.

For example, research led by Wampold suggests that effective
therapists have a sophisticated set of interpersonal skills,
including verbal fluency, warmth, acceptance, empathy and an
ability to identify how a patient is feeling. Successful therapists
can also form strong therapeutic alliances with a range of
patients and are able to induce them to accept the treatment
and work with them, he says.

Effective therapists are also highly tuned in to patient
progress, either informally or through the use of outcome
measures, according to research by Michael Lambert,
PhD, a psychology professor at Brigham Young University
and another participant in this latest series of Penn State
conferences. He summarizes his research on the importance
of client feedback in psychotherapy in his 2010 APA book
“Prevention of Treatment Failure.” He says that therapists
must take the time to track patient progress — ideally
through client self-reporting — and take action to address
issues that impede it.

“We know that psychotherapy works — research shows that
a substantial number of people who come to see therapists
will not only benefit from therapy but will also demonstrate
clinically meaningful change,” Castonguay says. Other experts
point out, however, that while therapist factors are clearly
important, they are not exclusive of the models that therapists
practice. It’s imperative that providers make sure the treatments

they are using are based on solid science, says Thomas Sexton,
PhD, a psychology professor at Indiana University and a
member of APA’s Div. 43 (Society for Family Psychology) Task
Force for Evidence-Based Practices.

“There’s evidence to suggest that certain interventionprograms also make a difference with specific client problems,”Sexton says. “The work of the task force centered around theposition that effective therapists need good interpersonal skills,a systematic model with good likelihood of success, and theability to implement those models with fidelity and clinicalcomplexity — or with high competence — in ways that matchto the clients.”And more clients may soon be able to experience meaningfultherapeutic gains if this group can identify the therapistcharacteristics and actions that most help — as well as thosethat undermine — psychotherapy. n